Silent Scream
by moriartyswife
Summary: Richter had taken us from our real family. Our mother's were his pawns, used to make a child from each of his brother's sons. The purpose of the research Richter was doing was to create the strongest vampire. He wanted me to kill Karl Heinz, and anyone who stood in his way of controlling the Sakamaki household. I'd beaten him, once, allowing everyone but myself to escape.
1. Asako

_"We can't just leave you here!" Kuriko argued, tears pooling in her pale purple eyes. She placed a shaky hand on the glass window of the door. Sirens rang out loudly. The whole place would go under lockdown soon._

 _Forcing a big smile, I repeated our plan. "Stay hidden for at least a year. However long it takes to stay off his radar. Then you go find them. That's the plan. Stick with it, okay?" The idea of staying here alone for a year or more turned my stomach. He'd only have me to take out his rage on._

 _Kuriko shook her head. "No, I'll stay with you."_

 _"Shiro, get her out of here. You can't waste any more time lingering. Don't deviate from the plan." I gave a little wave to reassure them and myself. "Don't forget to come get me."_

 _"Asako!" Kuriko screamed over and over._

"Asako," Ruri's voice came from the other side of the sealed door. She tapped again and again. "Hey, are you awake?"

Cracking my eyes open, I sat up on my bed. "Yeah, coming." That nightmare haunted my dreams since the day they left. There was no way of knowing when they'd return, but at least they hadn't been brought back. That made me happy.

Looking around my room, one might think that I live a normal life. String lights hung around the room, illuminating the packed room. My walls were covered in artwork that Kuriko had drawn and left behind in her room. Trinkets and books lined my many shelves, all things that I'd gathered from my cousins' rooms. Little reminders of their existence.

I sat down with my back against the door. "Anything new? Is he back?" Ruri was just a voice to me. We'd never met before, but I considered her my best friend. She knew everything about me. It got lonely being trapped in this room. Since the others had escaped, I hadn't left this room. That was my punishment. Total isolation.

Except for Ruri, and her three cousins: Atsumi, Yuki, and Kai. They only came a few times, not wanting to risk being caught. Ruri, on the other hand, had been caught many times and still returned. "Yeah, he came back this morning. He's been down in the lab with Kai." The solemnness in her voice wasn't anything new. Anything that happened in that lab was unspeakable. She went quiet.

"Ruri?" I asked.

The heavy clunk of the magnetic lock releasing startled me. Jumping back, I scrambled to get away from the door as it swung open. It shouldn't have surprised me who was standing there. His research would come to standstill without me, a pureblooded vampire from his own family. "R-Richter."

"It's time for you to return to the lab," Richter ordered waiting for me to get off the floor.

If my heart could beat, it would be pounding out of my chest. The lab was much worse than isolation. His terrifying glare got my feet moving. Sliding in my socks on the cold floor, I tried to keep up with his large stride.

Ruri watched from her spot against the wall. She didn't look at all like I had imagined. Taller, for sure. Her blue-gray eyes met my bright green ones for a few seconds. "I'm sorry," She mouthed, twirling a piece of her black curly hair between her fingers. There was nothing she could have done to stop it. Richter is extremely powerful.

Down in the lab, Kai was on the second table, unconscious with her blonde hair matted to her face by her sweat. "None of them are compatible, even though their fathers were turned by Karl Heinz." Richter said, strapping down my wrists and ankles to the table. He ran his hand through my hair. "The purple dye is gone. You looked just like Cordelia. Now you look like that one," he said with disgust.

He said that a lot. Whoever my father was, Richter hated that I resembled him. He rarely talked about my father before I cut my hair short and refused to dye it purple after my family had left. I'd only done it to protect Kuriko and Leiko from this monster. Testing the straps, I tried to prepare myself for the imminent pain.

Richter looked lost in through, staring at me and brushing his hand down my face. This Cordelia lady must have been important to him. So important that he used me as a surrogate for her in disgusting acts. "You're much shorter than she was. And her beauty far exceeds yours. You're much too similar to Ayato."

Finally interested in this conversation, I kept my mouth shut, not giving my usual snarky remarks. This is the first time I'd heard his name. Richter continued to talk about Cordelia. Beautiful beyond compare. The perfect creature. If she's so perfect, why isn't her with her? Why torture me? It made me wonder if she had died.

Kai groaned from the table next to me, interrupting his reminiscing. Attaching an IV to my arm, he said, "You must be thirsty, Asako. It's been a while. What, eight months since you last had blood?" Richter asked. He took a syringe filled with a dark blue fluid and stuck it into the IV line.

As it seeped up into my bloodstream, I clenched my teeth. It seemed stronger than normal, and burned through my body. The pain continued to grow, making it harder and harder to stay quiet. Screaming only made him angry. With all my muscles tensing up, my breaths became shorter, and my throat grew dryer. Over the year that I'd been isolated, I hadn't missed this part of being out.

"Whenever you're thirsty enough, your meal is right here," Richter taunted. Over on a couch laid a human girl. He slid a knife down her arm, starting to rouse the probably drugged teenager.

Her blood hit me hard. Sweet. _Fresh._ I wanted it. Badly. It became a battle to control myself. The purpose of the research Richter was doing to me was to create the strongest vampire. He wanted me to kill Karl Heinz and anyone who stood in his way of controlling the Sakamaki household. I'd been the most susceptible to the drugs, and became the main test subject. Whatever he'd created, made me a monster.

"Don't fight it, Asako. Let your vampire instincts guide you to the thing you want most," Richter encouraged, making notes on his writing pad.

My chest heaved with my lust for her blood. Damn did I want it! The monster inside me took control. The straps snapped like twigs and my eyes locked on my target. She was taller and more muscular than me. But, I'm the dominant species.

The girl, now fully awake, screamed and bolted for the open door. No matter how much she wanted to escape, it would end with her death.

"D-Don't… do it." Kai slurred her words, and barely held her head up. Her eyes flickered between bright blue and red. "I know you don't… want to. So don-" She cried out in pain when Richter turned on the electric shocker that had been attached to her body.

Kai was right. I didn't want to. I had to. This drug enhanced my instincts to the point where I did it to survive, and oh how thirsty I was. One deep breath told me which direction she had gone in. Catching up to her was easy. Reading the room however, angered me. Ruri was closest to me, the one I assumed to be Yuki, with the brownish-red hair, had the human girl directly behind her, and then Atsumi, with the dark green hair, stood off to the side. Ruri held up her hands. "Asako, you can control the urge. We can help you."

A laugh bubbled up inside me and once I started, I couldn't stop. "You think I want help? All I want is her blood. Move out of my way." It didn't even sound like me talking.

"I can't do that."

Another fit of laughter and I shrugged my shoulders. "Have it your way." Without touching Ruri, I teleported around her and beside Yuki, landing a hard punch. It sent her flying into the wall. The human girl cowered in front of me. The smirk of satisfaction grew on my face. "You smell _so_ good." I said, jerking her head to the side and sinking my fangs into her neck.

The girl screamed and struggled, but no one else tried to help her. Richter had followed and there would be no more helping this human girl. She was my prey and when I killed her, that would be the end of it. Her blood coursed through me.

When I had finished, she still breathed and cried, "You're a monster!"

It annoyed me. It got under my skin. Holding my head, it was me that screamed next. "Shut up!" I took a hold of her arm and kicked my foot into her stomach so hard that when she flew back, her arm ripped off her body. From there, I dismembered her until there was nothing left of her but a pile of body parts. The silence in the room lingered.


	2. Ritsu

Ritsu

2 Days Ago:

The catastrophe in our cramped living room irked me. The other four girls sitting in the various chairs wore angry expressions, which was to be expected. It had been my choice to keep this information a secret. I'd made a promise to Asako that I'd keep everyone safe, even if that meant keeping them in the dark. Scooting my glasses up my nose, I waited for the imminent explosion.

"How could you not tell us that you know where Asako is?" Shiro spoke up first, growling at me. She pulled at her white hair, a coping mechanism for her when she got angry and couldn't control it.

Sighing, I folded my arms and replied, "I don't know where she is. You know that when we left, the portal spit us out in this city. He could be anywhere. I only have access to the feed in her bedroom."

"That's a big secret to be keeping to yourself," Sachi said from her perch on top of the breakfast bar. Her being the tallest of us all, at 5'8, when she sat up there it made her almost look threatening. She never really cared to be part of our conversations any other time. It surprised me that she wanted to be around for this.

"I made a judgement call. It wouldn't have helped for anyone to be worrying about her." It made the most logical sense to not tell them. We had a hard enough time adjusting to the human world. Finding a small house that all of us could stay in had been more than bothersome, even with the money that Asako had stolen from Richter.

Leiko laughed from the couch, adjusting her beanie that sat on top of her wavy orange-red hair. "We left her behind, Ritsu. There's no way any of us stopped worrying about her."

Kuriko stood up. "I want to see it. I have to know…" Her voice squeaked. Out of all of us, she took leaving Asako the hardest. It took over a month for her to start speaking again. The transition without our fearless leader had been difficult. No one wanted to leave her, but she had planned it all from the beginning. I'd started to believe that she knew she wouldn't be leaving.

Knowing that they wouldn't let this go, I retrieved the laptop she'd stolen for me to keep. The camera flickered on, showing Asako in her bedroom. As far as I'd seen, she hadn't left the room in over a year. "That's not all. Asako told me about our family name, Sakamaki, and I think I've located our dads."

All eyes moved from the screen to me. Sachi kicked her legs. "Great. We're going there then?"

"I am, with Kuriko and Shiro. You and Leiko are going somewhere else. Do you remember the other four girls in the west wing. We never met them, but Richter spoke of them every now and again. From what I've gathered in this system, they come from a group of vampires who are ex-human."

Leiko stretched her arms over her head. "So basically, we're about to break some 'you're a father' news to a bunch of bachelor vampires. This'll be fun." A grin grew on her face.

"I've compiled a file on each of the girls. There isn't much, but hopefully it'll be enough to convince them to help us out," I said.

Kuriko wiped tears off her cheeks. "Let's go! Now! They can get her back! I mean, Richter always talked down about them, so he must be afraid of them." The panic had set in.

They wouldn't have enough sense to wait a few days, so I made arrangements for us to get there. Cabs were expensive and our funds were running dangerously slow. After an hour of annoying questions, we split up. Kuriko demanded to keep the laptop with her so she could watch Asako. She still stifled tears when we arrived at the massive mansion.

The cab left us stranded. My expectations for this meeting weren't high. I knocked the door, Kuriko clutched the laptop to her chest, and Shiro tried the door handle. The door swung open into an eerily quiet house. Someone was here, but it didn't smell like us.

"Don't you think Asako would be making a joke about how big this place is? Or wanting to go explore?" Shiro asked, smiling a little.

"Excuse me, young ladies. The masters of this house are currently away. If you would like to wait, I'll show you another room." The vampire bowed slightly, motioning us to follow him down the long hallway. He shut the doors back, leaving us alone.

The room was bigger than any of the rooms in the place we'd come from. Kuriko settled on the couch, opening back up the laptop. Shiro wandered around, curious about pretty much everything. The outside world still had a lot to teach us. I, on the other, contemplated how to break the news that these vampires have kids. They could reject us completely and saving Asako would be nearly impossible.

The silence was broke by a presence entering the room. "What is the meaning of this?"

This new vampire stared at us with a sharp glaze, like we were children who needed a scolding. I blocked Shiro with my arm. It was like staring into a strange mirror. I was at a loss for words. We looked so similar.

"Well, well. I thought there was someone new here." Another appeared, a fedora on his head, and a smirk that rivaled Leiko's in sassiness. He looked over all three of us and frowned. "Purebloods, but that's not possible. You smell like… us. Who are you?"

"I'm Shiro. This is Ritsu, and that's Kuriko," Shiro said, folding her arms. "Does the name Richter mean anything to you?"

"He's our uncle," A softer voice came from behind us on the second couch. A blond haired boy laid stretched out on it. He stared at us for before sitting up. "Are you his kids?"

Shiro rolled her eyes. "Do we look like it?"

"Shiro," I snapped. She could get us all killed. I collected myself and tried to explain through my nervousness. Being the calmest of the group didn't matter when meeting your real family for the first time. "From the research Asako stole for me, the only thing that makes sense is that Richter planned all of this from the start."

The first one sighed, adjusting his glasses. "I see." Three more vampires appeared, making it a total of six. "Then the logical assumption is that you are not Richter's kids, but ours."

"That's impossible, Reiji. I think we'd know if we got someone pregnant." The white haired one said, his eyes locked on Shiro. They look just alike too, same scowl and all.

Reiji sat down in the chair nearest to him. "Unlikely if Richter has been hiding all of this. He could easily have faked the death of some of the brides. Father had told him he could take the bodies for research." He folded his hands together, giving a brief introduction to each of his brothers. "Why did you come to find us?"

"Are there only three of you?" Laito asked.

Shiro was having a hard time not staring at Ayato, showing that she missed Asako just as much as the rest of us. "No, Sachi and Leiko are doing a different errand. And we…" I paused. How do I explain that we left Asako behind? Would they believe that we had no choice?

"Who is that?" Kanato asked from beside Kuriko, pointing the screen. He startled her. Again, the resemblance was shocking. His eyes met hers and tears pooled in her eyes again.

"Asako... she's still there… and I don't know how to help her. We don't even know where she is." Her worried tone made everyone silent for a moment. If they said to leave and never come back, Asako might be stuck there forever. Richter might break her, and she could be different from what we remember. These six vampires were her only way out.


	3. Leiko

Leiko:

2 Days ago

Sachi and I took our cab to this second address. The night had set in by the time we got here. It could be difficult to break this news to a group of boys. Who knows if they'll even believe us, let alone help break out Asako, Kai, and the others. Giving cash to the driver, I jogged to catch up to Sachi. She had stopped at the door.

"It's open," She muttered.

The door was cracked a little. Trying to peak in didn't work, so naturally, I pushed it open and strolled inside, despite Sachi's protest. Damn, this place is nice! I walked over to the big windows that went all the way to the ceiling. The backyard was full of plants. "Hey, check this out! They have a garden like ours!"

The greenhouse that had been in the facility was about the same size. I'd gotten pretty good at keeping some of the plants alive. It was kind of fun. Maybe I'll be able to work on one out here in the real world sometime. It's a lot of work though.

"We shouldn't have just come inside," Sachi said, still lingering by the door.

"Relax! I'm going to go look upstairs," I said with a sly grin. Really, snooping was what I wanted. This house is so amazing! Of course, the buzzkill didn't want to come. She might be a good fighter, but she's afraid of her own shadow sometimes.

The upstairs seemed just as spectacular. Who knew houses were made this big. The scent of vampire filled my nose, causing me to whirl around. Attractive boy, alert!

"What a cute little vampire," he said, looking down at me. His blond hair shook as he laughed. Backing me into against the wall, he lifted my chin with his finger to keep my eyes on him. "Tell me what brings you to our house, little one. Are you a fan, or just lost, hmm?"

My cheeks felt hot. He's so close to me! Over the year we'd been out, Ritsu had forced us to stay away from humans as much as possible, even the cute ones! The checkout boy at the store always flirted with me like the ones on TV. My only other experience with boys had been with old geezers. Maybe it was because he was a vampire, but he had an effect on me. "I… uh... Sachi and I…"

"Is Sachi the one downstairs?" He asked.

Nodding, I tried to think of a real answer, but he cut me off with a soft kiss. My whole body froze. It felt so different from all those other times. It took a moment for me to realize that he'd pulled away and was staring at me with an amused grin. "What's your name, princess?"

Now he's just teasing me… but it worked. My knees felt a little weak with him looking me over. My name… what's my name? "L-Leiko."

"Easy there. Am I making you that embarrassed? Your face is turning red," he said, leaning his head down to lick my neck. "I bet your pureblood blood will taste amazing. Would you let me have a taste, Leiko?" His fangs pressed against my skin.

"Kou… Ruki wants… her… downstairs," a green haired boy interrupted.

Kou stepped back, sighing. "Couldn't you have given us one more moment, Azusa?" He ran his hand through his hair, taking a hold of my wrist. Without missing a beat, he teleported us down to the living room. "So, we have two intruders." He sat on the couch and pulled me down onto his lap. "This one is mine. She's really adorable when she's all flustered." Kou slid his hand under my shirt, making me blush again.

Sachi frowned, smacking him in the forehead with a playing card. She pulled me away from him, keeping her body slightly in front of mine. "Hands off, creep." She raked her hand through her messy blond hair. "Like I said, Richter caused all of this. And they're still stuck there."

The boy I assumed to be Ruki, glanced down at the file in his hand, thinking. "Why should I believe you?"

"It's the truth. We wouldn't have come if it wasn't. Hell, we've never even met your kids, and frankly, I don't give a damn about them. Asako is all I want back, but we can't do that without help," Sachi said. Her dry tone made Ruki glare at her. They're scary! Not as a scary as Richter, but still.

Yuma stared at us. "Why do you look like those Sakamaki bastards?"

Sachi sighed. "Because obviously, we're their kids. Are you blind?"

"Watch your tone!" Yuma teleported close, towering over her.

Ruki closed the file loudly. "That's enough. For the time being, I believe you. But until this is resolved, you'll be staying with us as assurance," Ruki said. No room for arguing with this boy. "So long as you stay in the house and don't do anything stupid, I won't lock you away in the basement."

Sachi squeezed her fists. Uh oh. "We didn't leave Asako behind and get out of that shitty place to become prisoners again!"

Things got out of hand whenever Sachi gets like this. She was the chillest of all of us, but if she snapped, she could be terrifying. "Come on, Sachi. It's for Asako remember?" I stepped in front of her to keep her from attacking anyone. We had to do this for her.

Her blue eyes met my green ones, and we stared at each other for a few minutes. Sighing, she nodded. "You're right."

"So, if we're stuck here, that means you'll feed us, right?" I asked, looking back at Ruki who wore an annoyed expression. We had grown accustomed to eating meals. Richter used to make us play house. "Cause I'm definitely hungry." Not that vampires actually feel hungry. The only thing we really needed blood.

The silence hung in the air until Ruki nodded his head. Kou grinned, taking my hand. "Let's go for a walk, Leiko." His blue eyes sparked with amusement. In his free hand, he held the file on his own kid, Kai.

"No wa—"

"Sure," I cut off Sachi, smiling. Let's not make the strong vampire boys mad at us, Sach. I left her stranded there, confused. She would say we should stick together, but I had something to tell him. Outside, I watched him read the file as we walked around in the garden. "Can I tell you a secret?" I asked, breaking his concentration. I hopped up on the stone wall around a little pond.

This is either going to go really good or really bad.

"I've actually met her. Kai, I mean. In the facility we stayed in, we were pretty much separated from them. So, my cousins hadn't ever seen them. But I have. Actually, she's pretty cool, and she looks just like you. Richter used to take us places together because we were useful."

"Useful?" Kou asked, watching me spin around on the stones.

Nodding my head. "Obviously. Richter has benefactors paying for all his expensive drug ingredients, and there's always a price to pay."

His eyebrows grew together in an angry expression. "He used you two as payment?"

"More like entertainment to gross old guys. It only made sense. We are the two prettiest vampires in the group." For some reason, I wanted him to know it happened. Richter had made us swear to secrecy and he'd terrified me enough that I kept it all to myself. "No one else knows about it, so don't tell them, okay?" I bent down to be eye level with him, my arms behind my back.

Kou patted me on the head softly. "I won't. Don't worry about it, because I'm going to make sure you never have to do that again." There was a kind of recognition in his voice. He told me all about his job as an Idol, but there was more too it. Maybe sometime had happened to him too.

Oddly, I felt relieved that he knew. Like a burden had been lifted off me. We stayed out there for a while, him reading the file and me singing and telling stories. Kai had a good voice too. I played the piano and she sang to my music. We made a good pair. Part of me worried that she was being tormented now that we'd gone. Richter had told me that they were his backup plan should anything go wrong with us. And things went very wrong that day we escaped.


	4. Ruri

Present

Ruri's POV

The dinner table felt heavy tonight. After what we'd witnessed, none of us had the courage to speak, even as Richter talked about the progress Asako was making. He made empty promises about once she could control her urges, then we could all leave this place and take over the Sakamaki household. He sometimes even mentions letting us go to school. Since we weren't the primary experiments, we were allowed out of this place every now and again, so long as Richter went with us and we didn't try to escape. Honestly, life hadn't been that bad for us until the others escaped.

I stirred my spoon around in my soup absentmindedly, a sigh escaping my lips. It wasn't missed by Richter, who sat at the end of the table. He's got this twisted idea that this is a family. It's a fucked-up horror house. Living like a caged animal is more like it.

"Do you have something to share, Ruri?" Richter asked, making the other three freeze in their seats.

My gaze moved to the empty chair that sat across from me. It was Asako's chair. She'd never had dinner with us, but Richter left it empty. He said Cordelia wouldn't want a child sitting in her chair. Cordelia was code for Asako. I'd learned that a long time ago. I replied, "Nope."

His chair scrapped loudly as he stood up. He disappeared from the room.

"What the hell, Ruri?" Yuki spoke up after he'd gone. Even still, she kept her voice down. The rebel of our group hadn't said a word tonight. It seemed after seeing Asako dismember a human girl, even Yuki couldn't come up with any snarky comments for Richter.

Kai shushed her from beside Asako's empty chair. "Yuki, calm down. He'll hear you." Her usual peppy attitude had vanished. Who can blame her? Richter liked to experiment on her the most. She had a beautiful singing voice, and could make anyone laugh, but she wasn't that smart. None of us were, really. The only things I'd picked up on were from sucking up to Richter in order to help with the experiments. Being in his good graces kept me out of harms way.

"Good. Maybe he'll start experimenting on Ruri now. It's not like we haven't noticed that he never chooses you. You're a good little lap dog for him, aren't you?" Yuki growled, flicking a potato from her soup at me. Her aim wasn't good, it landed on the table in front of me.

I sighed, picking it up and wiping the soupy spot up. "You see what he's doing to her."

Yuki rolled her eyes. "So what! When he's experimenting on her, he's leaving us alone. She's not a normal vampire anymore!" She wanted to help Asako at first. They were all on board with the plan to stop her from making herself go crazy. That is until she turned on us, one day. Yuki took the brunt of the damage from an attempt to fight her off.

"It's not her fault. The experiment isn't complete yet. There's still a chance for her to be… normal again," I replied, squeezing my fists in my lap. None of us deserve what is happening. He's a monster.

Atsumi nodded her head. "I agree with Ruri. We should save her and get out of here." She smiled brightly, like this would be an easy task. She had a hard time grasping how difficult an escape from this building would be. The security had been upgraded since the others got out.

"Kai?" I wanted her opinion. She got the brunt of all his experiments, and he even forced her to be entertainment to gain more money. She never gave us details about, always claiming that all she did was sing. But she lies to protect herself.

Kai shrugged her shoulders. "I want to help her…but…what would we even do? Set aside facing Richter for a second. If Asako snaps and he orders her to kill us, we don't stand a chance. Is it worth sacrificing our lives for her? She's one of them, and I know you hate making that distinction since she's been alone now, but it's always been the four of us. Ruri, do you really want to sacrifice us for her?"

Her question hung in the air heavily. The decision seemed cut and dry, but I couldn't bring myself to answer quickly. Our conversation was cut off when the door flung open, signaling Richter's return. He had Asako by the arm. She had her feet planted on the ground, pulling against him with all her strength. When she wasn't tapping into that pureblood power, Richter could easily overpower her. "Fuck you! I'm not playing this stupid house game for you anymore!" Asako screamed.

Richter, unfazed by her behavior, pulled out the chair across from me. The lights reflected off the pure silver cuff that were on the arms of the chair. He shoved her down, locking her wrists tightly. Instead of her short, red hair, there was a long haired purple wig on her head. "Be still, Cordelia. It's unlady like to use that kind of language."

Asako shook her head in an attempt to remove the wig but it had been secured well. "I'm not Cordelia, you sick bastard! Whoever she was, she probably left you because you're insane!"

Richter stiffened at her words, picking up the nearest knife on the table. He plunged it into her leg, causing her to cry out in pain. He leaned down and whispered into her ear, low enough that I couldn't hear what he said. Asako went quiet, wincing from the pain in her leg. It couldn't heal because Richter didn't remove the blade.

The whole table was quiet, except for the sounds of Richter eating. My appetite for human food had completely disappeared. The others felt it too. Her blood seeping out of the wound smelled amazing. Sweet. While human blood was tasty, pureblooded vampires had the sweetest blood. I found myself having to grip my chair in order to control myself.

"Go on," Richter said, not looking up from his food. "Drink her blood, Ruri."

"What?" I couldn't possibly…

Richter raised his gaze from his food to me. "That's an order. Remove the knife and drink her blood. Maybe it'll give you some of her power. That would be an interesting side effect." He was serious. He wanted to make this an experiment. "Now."

Shakily, I stood from my chair and walked around the table to her. She wouldn't look at me, instead keeping her head turned away. Who knows what Richter would do if I refused. That's how I excused what I was about to do. But… really… I wanted her blood so badly that I couldn't stop myself. Asako bit her lip in an attempt to her stop cry of pain when I pulled the knife out and let it drop to the floor. Her wound began to heal. Up close, it smelled even more enticing.

Richter appeared behind the chair, pulling it out further so I could kneel in front of her. My thirst for her blood made my throat burn. He jerked her head around, forcing her to look down at me. "Bite her, Ruri. She likes it best when its painful. Keep your eyes open, Asako. Or I'll end one of their lives. I know you'd never let anyone get harmed because of your own selfishness."

My hesitation didn't go unnoticed by her. "Ruri." I looked up at her when she called my name. "It's okay. I want you to bite me." Asako smiled, though a tear rolled down her cheek. She wanted to protect us.

Her words didn't comfort me, because I knew they were lies. But I had to do it. Not for her, but for myself. Her blood called to me. I sank my fangs into the inside of her thigh. Her body recoiled and tensed in response. I almost moaned at how it tasted… better than I imagined. Gulping it down, it became harder to control myself.

Asako kicked her leg into my stomach, throwing me back. My head struck the table hard, disorienting me for a moment. Through my blurred vision, I watched the sliver cuffs shatter as she jerked her arms free. Her head fell to the side, her control fading. "Should I drink your blood, too? It's only fair." She grinned, teleporting on top of me. She straddled my hips, pinning my arms down beside my head.

"Asako!" Yuki shouted, getting up from her seat only to blocked by Richter.

She laughed. "Are you afraid? You look like a scared little kitten, shaking like that." Asako dropped her head down, running her tongue up my neck. "Vampire blood tastes completely different to human blood, doesn't it? It could be the most satisfying taste in the entire world. I bet yours will be even better, being the product of an ex-human."

"Then what are you waiting for?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. She didn't even need the drug to have this side of her take over… things are progressing faster than I realized. From what I'd studied in my spare time from Richter's notes, she shouldn't be able shift between herself and this instinctual side without the assistance of the drug. Yet, here she is. This girl wasn't Asako. She wasn't the one I snuck out of my room to talk to late at night.

Asako ripped the wig off her head, tearing some of her own hair at the same time. "So annoying." She bent down, licking my neck for a second time. She waited only a second before biting my neck hard.

That shit hurts! It's a foreign feeling for me, as I'd never been bitten before… I shoved my free hand against her chest, pulling up my leg to twist our body weight. Taking her by surprise, I managed to roll us over. "Asako!" I held her down with all my strength.

Richter roughly grabbed the collar of my shirt and threw me back off her. "Enough." He didn't seem pleased with the turn of events. He must have expected me to just take it. "Time to return to your cage, Asako."

Asako started laugh again, holding her stomach. "That's hilarious that you think you can tell me what to do?" She teleported over to him, landing a punch to his face hard enough to knock him on his ass. The strain on her body showed in her inability to stand up completely straight. She tensed her body. "You're going to die." Electricity sparked around her body. It shot out to the lights, causing the room to go dark. I'd read about her ability to control electricity, similar to Kai's ability of suggestion.

As much as I wanted her to kill him, he was the only one who stop her when she became like this. Richter pulled out a small gun from his waistband. A small dart hit her leg, and she crumpled to the ground, unconscious. "Girls, clean this up." He lifted Asako off the floor after retrieving the wig she'd tossed aside. Carrying her out, he shot me a displeased look.

No one moved for a while. The answer of saving her had become much easier to make. There's no way that any of us stood a chance against her. If she snapped, I couldn't help her. She has to stay here because it's the only place that she belongs. We have to leave her here, as hard as that was for me. Hopefully, she'll understand. I staggered to my feet.

"It's just us. Like it's always been." I said, receiving relieved looked from the other three.

I'm so sorry, Asako.


	5. Shiro

Shiro

2 Days Ago:

None of these vampires seemed too eager to help us. It's irritating. This is all their fault. If we'd… if I'd… never been born, that might have been better than having to live with this unrelenting guilt that I feel knowing that Asako stayed behind with that bastard. The one with the glasses, Reiji, introduced all of them, but never gave any inclination that they would help us. "Since we have plenty of room in the mansion, I could offer you all a place to stay, if that's something you're after," he said, though his tone held annoyance.

"All of us includes Asako," I said. Spoiled is what they look like.

Subaru gave an annoyed sigh from beside me. "That's not our problem."

I growled, squeezing my hands into fists. "It is your problem. This wouldn't be happening if it weren't for-"

"Shiro, stop," Ritsu said, giving me her usual judgmental look. She felt the need to keep me under control in high stress situation. It's like she doesn't even care that we left Asako behind!

My rage now directed at her, I narrowed my eyes, practically ready to start a fight. How else am I supposed to get this anger out of me? "Shut up, Ritsu! You're the one who hid this from us for a year!" She thinks she knows better than the rest of us, but the truth is that she doesn't trust us.

"I was only doing what Asako asked," She said.

Kuriko glanced up from over the laptop, her teary eyes held anger, too. "I agree with Shiro. You had no right to keep this a secret." She's an emotional vampire, and it was rare to see her get like this. Her features held the intent to kill. Kuriko didn't believe in harming living creatures, even humans. She only drank blood when she needed to and never killed her donor.

Ritsu shrugged her shoulders. "I trust her, so I followed her plan."

Kuriko sat up straighter, realizing what I had. More secrets. Ritsu had said it was her choice to keep it from us, but now it's part of Asako's plan? What else is she hiding from us?

"You're such an idiot!" I snapped. "You'd rather follow her crazy plan of self-sacrifice than risk your own life to save her, too!" I found myself shouting by the end, sending the room into a tense silence.

Laito laughed from his perch on the arm of the couch. "Now, now, ladies. There's no need for such harsh treatment."

All these vampires in one room were pissing me off. "This is pointless. If they won't help us, then we'll go by ourselves." There's no reason for us to wait around for them to break the news to us. It's clear that their just as selfish as Richter is.

The eldest one, Shu, who was stretched out on the couch near the fireplace, sighed. "None of you are strong enough to defeat Richter."

Kuriko squeezed the edges of screen, nearly snapping it half. "Asako is. She's absolutely terrifying when that drug is in her. Ritsu," Kuriko set the laptop aside and rose from her seat. She might be short, but right now, she looked ready to fight. "If you're hiding anything else, I'll kill you."

Ritsu chewed on her lip, a tell-tell sign she had another secret. I could see her debating whether or not she thought Kuriko was being serious. After a moment, she nodded her head. "I know how to get back to the warehouse."

Like a switch had flipped, Kuriko lunged at her, knocking both of them to the ground. Flames erupted around them, a barrier to keep anyone from getting too close. Ritsu put her hands against Kuriko's chest, pushing her away with as much force as she could muster. Kuriko landed a punch to her nose, and it made a crunch noise on impact.

Subaru disappeared from beside me, teleporting over to the two of them with a large bucket of water in his hands. Throwing it haphazardly over Kuriko and her flames, smoke filled the air. Kanato locked his arms around Kuriko's waist and hauled her off Ritsu. "You shouldn't start fires in someone else's house," he said softly, easily keeping her in his arms.

Kuriko struggled to break free.

Reiji helped Ritsu up. Her nose was already healing. Reiji gave her a tissue to wipe the blood off her. "Honestly, you three are nothing but trouble. I should ask you to leave." He kept his eyes on Ritsu, ignoring the wild Kuriko.

I stood completely shocked at what had happened. Kuriko had never started a fight before. She'd never even fought Richter, like I had. Her flames were something she liked to keep hidden, like they were a burden to her, but seeing her now, they could be a useful weapon.

Kuriko's will to fight dwindled quickly as her tears returned and she began to cry. Kanato released her when he was sure she wouldn't attack Ritsu again. She collapsed on the floor, shielding her eyes with her arm. Her so called father wanted nothing to do with the emotional mess that she had become.

I moved over to her, attempting to help her up, but she pulled me down instead, wrapping her arms around my waist. "You seriously need to calm down," I said, patting her on the head. I said that, but I felt the same way. Without Asako, what were we? She was a fearless leader.

The one who was her dad, Ayato, had been pretty silent since we arrived. Maybe he was in shock from the news, or maybe he just didn't care. He'd sat in that chair, staying quiet, but I noticed he had the laptop now. His bright green eyes moved from the screen to meet mine. "Alright, we'll help you. On the condition that we handle this our way."

What does that mean? We know that facility better than anyone. We should be telling them how to navigate and how to deal with the traps inside. But… do we really have that much of a choice? If Ayato wants to save his daughter, should I argue with his condition? It's irritating knowing that we're giving control to total strangers. Taking a deep breath, I nodded my head. "Fine."

It's for Asako. She's our leader, and I'd do anything to get her back.

Even if it means trusting these vampires.


End file.
